al-Jazeera: There are reports of Egyptian army using force to disperse activists gathered at Cairo’s Tahrir Square to demand the removal of Hosni Mubarak loyalists from the interim cabinet.
Egyptian soldiers fired in the air and used batons in the early hours of Saturday to disperse the crowd, protesters said.
Thousands had gathered in the Tahrir Square to celebrate two weeks since Mubarak’s removal and remind the country’s new rulers, who have promised to guard against “counter revolution” of the people’s power.
Activists urged the military, who had promised there would be “no return to the past” of the Mubarak era, to overhaul the cabinet and install a team of technocrats.
But after midnight, protesters said the military fired in the air, shut off the light from lampposts, and moved in on protesters to force them to leave the square.
“Military police used batons and tasers to hit the protesters,” Ahmed Bahgat, one of the protesters, told Reuters by telephone. “The military is once again using force. But the protesters have not responded.”
Protesters left the main centre but many had gathered in surrounding streets, another protester, Mohamed Emad, said.
Witnesses said they saw several protesters fall to the ground but it was not clear if they were wounded or how seriously.
“I am one of thousands of people who stood their ground after the army started dispersing the protesters, shooting live bullets into the air to scare them,” said protester Ashraf Omar.
Arrests
The army officers who moved in on protesters in Tahrir, donned black masks to cover their faces to avoid being identified by protesters, Omar said.
Military busses were parked in the square to take in protesters that were caught, Mohamed Aswany, one protester who had decided to stage a sit-in, told Reuters by telephone.
Protesters were heard yelling and shouting as they were chased down side streets to Tahrir.
“It is a cat and mouse chase between the army and the people,” Omar said in dismay. “There is no more unity between the people and the army.”
“They were using tasers and sticks to beat us without any control. I thought things would change. I wanted to give the government a chance but there is no hope with this regime,” Omar said. “There is no use.”
“I am back on the street. I either live with dignity or I die here.”
Protesters say they want the resignation of the government of Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq, the immediate release of political prisoners and the issuing of a general amnesty.
